Young people can face all sorts of pressures – including problems at school, with friends or at home.
connectEDspace is a website by Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV), dedicated to young people to help provide all the information they need to deal with the stuff they go through each day.

Aboriginal Family and Relationship Support

RAV provides support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and individuals to help strengthen family relationships.

Board

Professor Lyn Littlefield - President

Lyn is the Executive Director of the Australian Psychological Society, the peak professional body for psychologists in Australia. Lyn was formerly Head of the School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University and Inaugural Director of the Victorian Parenting Centre. She is a clinical psychologist specialising in couple, child, family and group therapy, as well as conflict resolution. Lyn sits on a number of Federal Government expert advisory and reference groups concerned with mental health policy and service delivery. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the Australian Institute of Management. Lyn has been a Board Member since 1993, chairs the Practice Quality Committee and was Vice-President from May 2013. Lyn has been President of the Board since October 2014.

Mr Peter Gome - Vice-President

Peter is an experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with an international career spanning over 30 years. He spent the majority of his career at BP with roles in Australia and internationally including the UK. His last roles at BP were as CFO for various business units including exploration and production, and marketing. Subsequently he has held a number of Australian CFO and Chief Operating Officer roles with mid-tier companies in the oil, transport and printing and construction project management industries. He is currently the CFO of the Pacific Group of Companies involved in retail and commercial property investment and management. Peter blends his strong leadership and finance background with strategic marketing skills and experience and has lectured in the Master of Marketing and MBA programs at Monash University. He holds Fellow membership of both the AICD and CPA. He joined the RAV Board in 2009 and chairs the Audit and Finance Committee. Peter has been Vice-President since October 2014.

Dr Janine Bush

Janine’s diverse career spans across the Victorian Auditor-General's Office, Parliament of Victoria, the health and community sector and academia. As Director, Performance Audit, she oversees performance audits of government departments across areas that include health, human services and education. As Director of Committee Inquiries, she led Parliamentary inquiries into matters concerned with the welfare of the community, including the welfare of the family. These include the Betrayal of Trust Inquiry on criminal child abuse in organisations and inquiries relating to mental health, disability, public housing and senior Victorians. In previous executive roles, Janine has worked with the Office of the Public Advocate and as CEO for peak organisations in the community sector, including Domestic Violence Victoria and the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association. Janine has served on management committees of community organisations and been involved with several Australian Research Council linkage projects. Janine joined the Board in 2015.

Mr David Colliver

David Colliver is the CFO and General Manager, Corporate Services of South Eastern Melbourne PHN. He is an experienced senior executive and director, with a background in both large corporate organisations and government, including health, higher education, banking, insurance, professional services and manufacturing industries. David has held leadership roles in finance and operations, including technology and human capital in Australian and international companies.

He has extensive Board and Committee Chair experience in various commercial entities and not-for-profit organisations. He has previously been on the Board of Scope (Vic) Limited, The Children’s Protection Society, The Foundation for Young Australians, Irabina Autism Services and Brainwave Australia. David joined the RAV Board in June 2017.

Ms Kaye Frankcom

Kaye is a highly accomplished businesswoman and leader in the health sector. She is an endorsed clinical and counselling psychologist, consultant to the insurance industry, in-demand speaker and trainer and has held national roles in psychology regulation and professional standards. She has operated a successful group psychology practice in Williamstown, Victoria for 17 years. Kaye is a well-known mentor and supervisor to early career psychologists. She was an appointee to the first Psychology Board of Australia. Her current appointments include Independent Chair of a Consortium Advisory Committee for four headspace clinics in western and northern Melbourne, Director of South West Allied Health Network, a voluntary coalition advocating allied health services in South Western Melbourne, and an appointee to the Melbourne Primary Health Care Clinical Governance Council. Kaye is also a member of the YMCA Redress Panel which is responding to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Kaye joined the RAV Board in 2016.

Ms Debra Goldfinch

Deb has had an extensive career in the not-for-profit and health and community sectors with a focus on change management and working with people at risk. In Deb’s 20 years as a CEO, she has implemented business restructures and developed corporate strategies to take organisations to their next level. She places emphasis on the people within organisations, develops improved culture within organisations and is able to develop strong teams around her. Deb has participated as a member of a number of federal and state committees and boards relevant to the health, community and not-for-profit sectors. In addition to her current role as CEO of Irabina Autism Services, Deb is also on the Board of Early Childhood Intervention Australia at the national and state levels. Deb joined the RAV Board in 2013 and serves as chair of the Governance Committee.

Ms Kimberly Hunter

A director of Clancy & Triado, Kimberly completed her Bachelor of Laws at Auckland University. She was admitted to practice in 1989 and decided early on to specialise in family law. During a six-month attachment to the Human Rights Commission, Kimberly researched and prepared a submission on Marital Status Discrimination. After living and working in London for five years, she moved to Australia in 1996 and joined Clancy & Triado. She became an accredited specialist in family law in 1999. An active member of the Law Institute of Victoria, she has served on numerous committees, including the Executive of the Law Institute of Victoria’s Family Law Section, the Children and Youth Issues Committee and the Courts Practice Committee. She is a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia and a member of the RA Lawyers' Panel. She joined the Board in 2011.

Mr John Lovell

John Lovell has more than 25 years’ experience in the IT industry, both within Australia and internationally. His experience covers IT projects for the introduction of ATMs and EFT/POS within Australia, pay TV systems, introduction of broadband services and other significant IT-related projects. Prior to returning to Australia, John was based in Hong Kong where he was responsible for the IT infrastructure for the Walt Disney Company across Asia Pacific. John is currently working within the education sector, assisting with the integration of IC&T and innovation to effect positive learning outcomes. He joined the RAV Board in 2008.